Ford Ironman 70.3 California - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Oceanside, California
United States
Ironman North America
60F / 16C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 41m 15s
Overall Rank = 730/1884
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 101/225
Pre-race routine:

Up at 4:30.
Breakfast of oatmeal and ground flaxseed. Banana in my pocket to be eaten after transition is set up.

Picked up bike from Tri Bike Transport and rode to the transition area.
Setup, ate half of the banana - chatted it up with the great group of guys around me and waited... and waited...

Late wave start meant we were able to watch the pros finish the swim. Potts looked strong coming into transition.
Event warmup:

None.
Swim
  • 37m 21s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 46s / 100 yards
Comments:

Felt pretty good on the swim. Water was warmer than I thought it would be. Neoprene hoodie was probably a bit too much. Given my relative lack of time in the pool, I'm happy with my swim time.
What would you do differently?:

Swim faster, sight the high rise a bit better. I probably added 200 yards or so to my total distance by swimming crooked.
Transition 1
  • 06m 1s
Comments:

I took a bit of time to put on arm warmers - in hindsight it was a complete waste of time... didn't need 'em.

Stopped at the port-a-john on the way out.


What would you do differently?:

Practice transitions a bit better on brick days.
Bike
  • 2h 53m 21s
  • 56 miles
  • 19.38 mile/hr
Comments:

As I warmed up, I thought (like some others had posted) that I had a rock in my right shoe. I tried shaking it out, to no avail. No worries, I adjusted the pressure on my foot as best I could and tried to focus on my watts and cadence. Things were fine. The north bound ride was fantastic and set a strong pace with the wind at our backs - tried to keep things upbeat and talked to lots of folks as I passed by. Was passed a few times myself, but tried very hard to remind myself that this was a training race and the goal was to finish healthy and strong with plenty in the tank for a big week on the bike.

Hydration:
After having only a small polar bottle to start the race, I was able to catch up after the first aid station.
Aid Stations:
1 - one water bottle
2 - one water, one gatorade, half banana. I really do not like gatorade...
3 - two bottles of water - I will pay for this on the run...

Nutrition plan: one GU and one Accel gel per hour
Nutrition actual:
1 gu (plain) & 1 Accel gel (vanilla) per hour + 1 additional gu at 40 miles
1 half banana at 30 mile water station
Nutrition total: 4 GU, 3 Accel gel, half banana = ~750 total calories

What would you do differently?:

Not a lot, but I really wanted 20 mph avg...
Add a drink with sodium - not gatorade - to help my body retain some of the fluids I took in...
Transition 2
  • 04m 51s
Comments:

The guy I was stuck behind simply refused to pedal through the transition area before the dismount line) - lost what seemed like a day here... geez.

Found out that the "rock" in my shoe was actuall a nice gash on the ball of my right foot. Uh oh, this is gonna hurt... I changed my bloody socks so I wouldn't destroy my new runners. Check my album for a photo of the actual wound...

Nutrition: 1 package of shot blocks
What would you do differently?:

Faster, faster, faster....
Run
  • 1h 59m 41s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 08s  min/mile
Comments:

Some background: When not injured, I'm a fairly strong runner. Last years knee injury and subsequent time off forced me to be a bit more conservative. Averaging 100 miles/month since September with very little speed work has made me slow and steady... That said i went into the run with a goal of sub 2 hours. I'm fine with that, well not really, but for today I will have to be.

First lap felt a bit long, I wasn't able to get into a very good rhythm and was constantly thinking "when is the knee going to start hurting?" Turns out that was a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. At mile 4.5 I felt it prudent to walk a bit to relax the knee and give it a break. Walk/run. At this point I'm thinking it's going to be a long day. I decided to run to the next water stop and see how things felt. They felt bad. Walk/Run continues until I get to the pier on my way back to transition on my first lap - then I stopped. Tried stretching my left quad and hammy to even things out a bit, get the knee back into the right mode. There was another guy in my age group doing the same thing - we must've passed each other 3 or 4 times. Turning past the gypsy (?) lady in the water stop by the turn I made the decision that this was not going to be a long day and that I would, in fact, not walk any more. Passed the family before the dirt downhill and hit the turn-around with a new motivation.

At this point a negative split was going to be easy - my first lap was miserable. Thinking back, I feel it was more of a mental game than an actual physical problem. Three days post race, my ITBs are a bit tender, but otherwise everything feels fantastic.

Laps
1 - 1:09:11 (avg HR 139) 10:33 pace
2 - 0:50:30 (avg HR 165) 07:43 pace


What would you do differently?:

Need to fix my knee - or at least the way I perceive knee's impact on my running. It seems as though the slower I go, the more it hurts - so next time I need to go faster.
Post race
Warm down:

Not much of one - walked to the pizza tent - two slices and a banana and a couple bottels of water.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not too much other that what I've already described in the run section.
This was a training race for IM CDA in June and I really only wanted to see where my fitness was. Turns out I feel like I'm on track for a shot at <=12:00:00 in June so long as I can continue to build my bike fitness and get past this mental block on the run.

Event comments:

Still had a bunch of gas in the tank so my overall goals were achieved - nearly finished with the splits I'd hoped for:
Goal/actual
SWIM - 0:40:00 / 0:37:21
BIKE - 2:35:00 / 2:53:21(missed my bike goal by 0:18:21)
RUN - 2:00:00 / 1:59:41

Transitions sucked - no excuse, must practice more...
Run fitness is there, just a basket case with the knee and thinking about IM CDA in June...

Overall a great time and would love to do it again.




Last updated: 2007-08-07 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:37:21 | 2112 yards | 01m 46s / 100yards
Age Group: 119/225
Overall: 913/1884
Performance: Good
HR Avg - 144 HR Max - 154
Suit: Helix
Course: Single loop
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 58F / 14C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 06:01
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:53:21 | 56 miles | 19.38 mile/hr
Age Group: 70/225
Overall: 484/1884
Performance: Good
Avg Watts: 226 Watts per Kg: 2.67 Avg HR - 146 Max HR - 191
Wind: Some
Course: I enjoyed the course. The hills were a great opportunity to put some distance on those having trouble. I surprised myself by hitting my taget wattages on each hill and holding them to the top.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 83
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 04:51
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
01:59:41 | 13.1 miles | 09m 08s  min/mile
Age Group: 114/225
Overall: 940/1884
Performance: Below average
Overall: Avg HR - 143 Max HR - 185
Course:
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %2
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4